Labourer No. 38, 2024,
mixed media on xuan paper and bamboo
accompanied by AI voice in Javanese (from Rudi Hendriatno’s text translation of Mah's poem)
via QR code
Open-source Gamelan music
(H) 65 x (W) 26 x (D) 15 cm
mixed media on xuan paper and bamboo
accompanied by AI voice in Javanese (from Rudi Hendriatno’s text translation of Mah's poem)
via QR code
Open-source Gamelan music
(H) 65 x (W) 26 x (D) 15 cm
Labourer No.38 AI Audio
"Labourer No. 38" speculatively speaks of a Javanese woman forcibly taken from her village. She finds herself in the Maluka Kingdom of Banjarmasin, under the authority of Alexander Hare—Resident of Banjarmasin (Borneo), appointed by Stamford Raffles. This piece sheds light on Raffles' exploitative labour policies and Hare’s infamous harem. As part of Raffles' efforts to address labour shortages, women convicted of minor offences were often shipped to Hare. There, she entered Hare’s harem as No. 38.
The work unearths clandestine British colonial operations in Southeast Asia, highlighting the commodification of women’s bodies and the erasure of their fates from historical records. Her forgotten voice, painstakingly translated into Javanese from the artist’s poem, is accessible via QR code embedded in the artwork.
The work unearths clandestine British colonial operations in Southeast Asia, highlighting the commodification of women’s bodies and the erasure of their fates from historical records. Her forgotten voice, painstakingly translated into Javanese from the artist’s poem, is accessible via QR code embedded in the artwork.